Washington – There’s nothing quite like the shrill trill of a cellphone to kill the excitement of a cinematic moment.

It’s an infuriating problem, one that movie theater owners have tried to address subtly with lobby signs and on-screen reminders to silence phones. Now, they are considering a new tactic: jamming cellphone signals inside the theater so calls cannot get through.

The idea came up last week during the ShoWest motion picture industry conference in Las Vegas, and the National Association of Theater Owners said it is interested in talking to other potentially interested groups, such as churches, playhouses and opera houses.

It also needs to talk to the federal government – jamming cellphone signals is a federal crime and would require permission.

For a theater industry trying to keep pace with DVD rentals, online movie downloads, and a host of other competitive business concerns, keeping the movie theater annoyance-free is a serious matter.

“It’s part of a larger issue of rude patron behavior,” said Kendrick Macdowell, a spokesman for the association, which represents big theater chains such as AMC and Regal Cinemas. “It’s something that gets people really upset. When it does happen, it’s infuriating.”

But jamming cellphone signals is a solution that also riles passions on the other side of the argument, notably parents of small children for whom a night out at the silver screen might not be feasible without emergency connectivity.

Denver investor Philip Anschutz’s Regal Entertainment Group has more than 6,200 screens in 40 states.

“Blocking technology is illegal for many reasons, the most important of which is public safety,” said John Walls, a spokesman for CTIA, which represents the wireless industry. “I don’t think anyone’s in the position to play gatekeeper.”

Willful or malicious interference with radio communications is illegal. Also, manufacturing, importing, marketing and selling devices that can block or jam wireless transmissions can result in a $11,000 fine and a year-long prison term, according to the Federal Communications Commission website.

But technologies that make it possible to temporarily block cellphone calls could create a loophole.

One Rochester, N.Y.-based company, NaturalNano Inc., has developed microscopic tubes that it can fill with signal-blocking materials such as copper that, when added to wall paint, would prevent signals from passing through. The company also has licensed a technology that can override the blocking, allowing signals to get through between movies, for example.

“That’s cheaper than retrofitting a building,” said Michael Riedlinger, president of NaturalNano, who said the product could be available as early as next year.

Other companies, mostly operating outside of the United States, make devices that basically jam or overcrowd the network, as when too many people try to make calls at the same time, said Roger Entner, a wireless analyst at Ovum, a research firm.

“The problem is that jamming doesn’t stop where walls are,” he said. “You’re always bleeding out to other areas,” such as the street in front of the theater, which would prevent a passing driver from making a call.

The theater association’s Macdowell said the group is also exploring technologies that disable ring tones but quietly notify users of incoming calls.

Cellphone providers, meanwhile, prefer to encourage proper etiquette.

Cingular Wireless, for example, sponsors pre-movie advertisements mocking “Inconsiderate Cellphone Man,” which the company says encourage viewers to turn off their phones.

“Research shows the vast majority of consumers take action” with a simple reminder, said Cingular spokeswoman Rochelle Cohen.

Ovum’s Entner, who has a young son, said blocking cellphones could backfire, because people like him would simply stop going to the movies.

“Instead, I’ll wait a couple of months and get the DVD for 20 bucks,” he said.

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